NATS 103 - The Biological World Enzymes

NATS 103 - The Biological World
ENZYMES
OVERVIEW: A typical cell has thousands of chemical reactions occurring every minute.
However, these reactions are not random occurrences - every chemical reaction in your body is
regulated by one or more enzymes. Enzymes are complex proteins that speed up or slow down
chemical reactions and are not consumed by the reaction. They function by lowering the
activation energy of a chemical reaction. For any reaction to proceed, be it exothermic (energy
producing) or endothermic (energy-requiring), energy must be added to the system (this is similar
to the old phrase, “you have to spend money to make money.” Even reactions that give off
energy must have an initial input of energy to proceed. This energy “cost” that must be “paid” is
known as the activation energy.
Enzyme activity is affected by the environment. Usually, the addition of heat will increase the
activity of an enzyme, up to a certain critical point. Once this point is reached and then
surpassed, the enzyme begins to fall apart, thus reducing its ability to catalyze the reaction. This
is why when you become ill, you get a fever. Your body is increasing its temperature to make its
enzymes work faster. However, if your temperature becomes too great, you can end up
destroying valuable enzymes, which can possibly lead to death! External pH is also important.
The enzymes in your mouth work best at a pH of 7. However, those found in your stomach work
best at a pH of 4.5 (the stomach is a highly acidic place so these enzymes must function well
under these extreme conditions). The pH at which an enzyme works best at is typically the pH of
the environment in which it will most commonly be found.
Enzymes play an important role in the living process. The most easily understood use of
enzymes is in the digestive process. During digestion, enzymes are secreted by the body to break
down large macromolecules such as starch and proteins, into their manometric units (simple
sugars and amino acids). In this lab, you will use active enzymes in their saliva to demonstrate
how enzymes work on common food molecules.
PURPOSE: This lab will demonstrate enzyme activity and how changes in the physical
conditions affects their performance. Students will work with active enzymes and explore the
boundaries of their activity.
OBJECTIVES: When you have completed this lab, you will be able to:
1. define enzyme
2. observe enzyme activity
3. explain how controls and variables are used in experimental design
PROCEDURE:
1. Gather up six tubes and number them 1-6.

2. Add 5 ml of tap water to tubes 1-2.
3. Crumble up a cracker and add ½ of the crumbled cracker to tubes 3 and 4. Then add 5 ml of
water to tubes 3 and 4
4. Everyone in the group chew a second cracker, making sure not to swallow it, for at least one
minute. You want as much saliva as possible to combine with the cracker. Spit it into the
large test tube and then mix with water. Let this mash sit for 10 minutes.
5. Pour about 5 ml of the chewed cracker in tube 5 and another 5 ml in tube 6
6. Add two or three drops of Lugol’s iodine solution into tubes 1, 3, and 5. Shake and let sit for
one minute. Record the color of each tube.
7. Add 3 ml of Benedict’s solution to tubes 2, 4, and 6. Shake and place on a heating block for
at least five minutes. Be careful, Benedict’s solution is caustic and will burn if it gets in
your eyes. Record the color of the solution after being on the heating block for five
minutes.
WHAT’S GOING ON
Starch: Starch is a macromolecule composed of numerous glucose molecules hooked together
like beads on a string. Plants photosynthesize to produce glucose. They then hook these glucose
monomers together to form a long chain polymer called starch. Our bodies must first break
down the starch polymer to glucose monomers before we can metabolize the sugars to form
energy.
Lugol’s Iodine Solution: Iodine is a chemical that will react with starch to form a blue-black
color. It will not react with glucose, so it is an excellent indicator of undigested starch
Benedict’s Solution: Benedicts solution is a chemical that will react with glucose to form a red
color. It will not react with starch, making it an excellent indicator for the digestion of starch to
glucose
ASSIGNMENT.
1. What conclusions can you reach about the action of salivary enzymes on the digestion of
starch?
2. What varied in the treatment of test tubes 1, 3, and 5? Tubes 2, 4, and 6? Why is this
difference important in your conclusion? Remember, when doing an experiment, one is
trying to limit the number of variables observed, so a good experiment should have
several controls to define and limit the number of variables.
3. Was starch present in tubes 1, 3, and 5? If not, why not?
4. Was glucose present in tubes 2, 4, or 6? If so, why?
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: Using a minimum of 50 words, answer the following questions.
1. What are some of the important properties and characteristics of enzymes?
2. Explain the action of the saliva on the starch. How does this affect digestion in your body?

NATS 103 - The Biological World Enzymes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

NATS 103 - The Biological World Enzymes

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

NATS 103 - The Biological World Enzymes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

NATS 103 - The Biological World

1. Gather up six tubes and number them 1-6.

You might also like